


Locked Up

by fuzzyalarmclock



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-16 18:39:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11258655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzzyalarmclock/pseuds/fuzzyalarmclock
Summary: Lorelai needs a date for the rare manuscript fundraiser.Takes place during 4x13 - Nag Hammadi is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels (AU)





	Locked Up

Lorelai's face is still burning with anger as she walks back from the market with a box of non-Barbie bandages. Luke deserves better than Jess, who is ungrateful for all he tried to do for him, and he deserves better than Nicole who can't decide how she feels about him or their relationship.  
  
When she gets back to the house, she finds Luke asleep on the couch. She needs to get ready for the rare manuscript fundraiser but she doesn't want to wake him just yet. She collects ibuprofen and a glass of water, hoping Luke has slept off his beers, and when she returns to the living room, he is awake and shifting on the couch. “Hey, you're up,” she says softly, offering the glass of water to him and setting the pill bottle on the coffee table. “How are you feeling?” She steps around him and sinks down next to him on the couch.  
  
Luke looks confused and she worries he suffered a concussion falling out of the tree. “As good as new,” he mumbles. He looks down at his hand and notices the end of his shirt is covered in dried blood. “I'm sorry I slept on your couch like this.”  
  
“It's okay.” She opens the box of band aids and searches for the largest one. “Give me your hand.” She takes his hand in hers, her fingers cool against his skin.  
  
“Geez, you're freezing. I need to get that window fixed.”  
  
“It's fine. Don't worry about it today, okay? You've got enough going on with Liz in town.” Lorelai's fingertips are soft as she places a large bandage across his palm.  
  
“Yeah. Tomorrow, though. I'll bring Bert.”  
  
“My men!” She sits back, satisfied. His hand lands on her leg, palm up, but she doesn't seem to mind. “Hey, Luke?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“You got any plans tonight?”  
  
“No. I mean, I'll probably drop by the Firelight Festival. Are you going?”  
  
“Of course, but Rory and I have this benefit dinner with my parents first.” She shifts on the couch. “I know it's not really your thing—it's not my thing either—but they're trying to fill seats, so maybe you'd want to come?”  
  
Luke is sure he's still drunk. Lorelai couldn't have asked him to come with her to one of her parents' fancy functions. “Are you sure?”  
  
“I'm as sure as I can be when voluntarily agreeing to spend time with my parents.”  
  
“And your parents don't hate me?” Luke frowns.  
  
She mentally berates Jess all over again, only this time she doesn't get the satisfaction of seeing his face. “They don't know you, how could they hate you?”  
  
He shrugs and glances down at his lap. “Seems to be the theme of the day.”  
  
Her heart drops. “That's not true, Luke. Liz needs you. Rory and I clearly need you or we'd be human popsicles. So buck up, Boy Scout.” She pats his knee.  
  
It seems insane to spend time with Lorelai's parents when he's been dealing with his own crazy family all day, but spending an evening with Lorelai is a rare opportunity, even if he does have to dress up. “What's the dress code for this event?”  
  
“Wear the suit I bought and you'll be golden.”  
  
*  
  
When the doorbell rings at 5:45, Lorelai calls to Rory. “You ready?”  
  
“Almost!”  
  
Lorelai carefully walks downstairs, shoes in hand, before opening the door. Luke is standing there in the suit. She's seen him in a suit before, but she's forgotten how well a nice-fitting suit can show off a man's body and Luke, as much as she's tried to not notice, keeps in shape. He's clean shaven, which always looks a little weird to her, like it's not quite Luke.  
  
His eyes widen when he sees her. “Wow, you look...” He struggles to find the words for Lorelai in that fitted long black dress with her hair flowing down her back. “Great.”  
  
“Thanks,” she smiles. “You clean up good yourself.” She gestures for him to step inside and she grasps his arm as leverage while she slips on her shoes. “Hey, Rory?” she calls again. “Luke's here. Let's hit the road.” She intones to him. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.” Lorelai reaches for her coat, wrapping it around herself in one fluid movement and then sweeping her long hair out from underneath the collar. “Thanks again for doing this. It'll probably be boring, but I thought it might get your mind off of things.”  
  
“Yeah, it will be an...experience.”  
  
She laughs. “It will at that.”  
  
Rory appears in the entryway. “Sorry, I was struggling with shoes. Hi, Luke!” She presses up on her toes to give him a quick hug. “Let's go learn about rare manuscripts.”  
  
“Oh, baby.” Lorelai croons while rolling her eyes.  
  
*  
  
Upon arriving, Luke immediately feels out of place. They pull up to a large mansion, which Rory informs is the Hartford historical society. Once they're inside, he grits his teeth. “Lorelai. This is black tie.”  
  
“No, it's not. That guy's wearing a suit. You're fine.”  
  
“He's the bartender!” As Lorelai leads him to her parents' table, Luke takes solace in the fact that Rory isn't wearing formal evening wear. With Lorelai in that black dress, he can pretend they at least coordinated, maybe that counts for something with this crowd.  
  
“Lorelai, you're late.” Emily greets them.  
  
“Hi Mom, hello to you too.” Emily's gaze immediately falls to Luke. Lorelai's hand falls to his shoulder as she re-introduces them. “Mom, you remember Luke. He was kind enough to come and fill a chair.” She speaks in a deliberate fashion and he knows she's trying to communicate to Emily to be nice.  
  
“Yes, hello, Luke. Nice to see you again.” She recovers nicely from her apparent disappointment, greeting him in her warmest frigid tone. “Thanks for coming. We were stuck in a tight spot.”  
  
“Nice to see you again, Mrs. Gilmore.” Richard stands up to shake Luke's hand. “Mr. Gilmore.”  
  
“Luke! We're glad to have you round out the table, young man. Very thoughtful of you.” Emily shoots Richard a look for his last comment.  
  
“Thanks for having me.” He sits, watching as Emily and Richard say hello to people they know, but relieved he doesn't have to make small talk with any of them. He leans over to Rory conspiratorially. “What do you usually do at these things?”  
  
“People watch, mostly. Mom and I usually compare notes after, so we can mock.” She nods at Lorelai, who is shaking hands with acquaintances of her parents. “Sometimes I imagine mom coming to these things when she was a teenager. It's pretty funny.” It's easy to imagine teenage Lorelai unable to hide her disdain of the whole ritual. He chuckles. “You're a natural.” Rory smiles.  
  
He and Rory talk about Yale and how things are going at _The Daily News_. He's tempted to apologize that she ran into Jess, but he hears Jess's words about how he's always interfering, so he lets it go. Lorelai watches them with a smile on her face.  
  
Another man appears at the table dressed in a tux. Luke notes how Lorelai perks up and before he can ask, Emily and Richard are greeting him. “Jason, you made it.” He looks familiar and Luke realizes he is the man who was tailgating him a few days earlier. The same guy he later saw with Lorelai when they were parked outside of the diner. He hasn't heard her mention anyone lately and this guy doesn't really look like her type, but it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together.  
  
Luke realizes the man—Jason—is looking at him strangely. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Jason says coolly to Lorelai.  
  
“Oh, I'm sorry. Jason, this is Luke. Luke, this is Jason. He's my dad's new business partner.” Lorelai has the decency to look slightly uncomfortable, as if she hadn't realized how weird the dynamic might be before this moment.

“Luke, was it?” Jason exchanges a look with Lorelai as he says this. He doesn't know what is going on, but he's trying to understand why Lorelai would have possibly brought him tonight if she already had a date.

“That's right.”  
  
“What do you do, Luke?” This time it's Luke who gives Lorelai a look. Is this guy kidding? He was sitting not twenty feet from the diner a week ago.  
  
“I run a diner.”  
  
“Fascinating.” Jason furrows his brow as if he's interested, but doesn't say anything else. Rory is watching the whole exchange with wide eyes.  
  
“I'm going to get another martini,” Lorelai announces, standing up.  
  
“I'll come with you.” He says quickly, half expecting Jason to say the same, and follows her to the bar in the next room.  
  
“Do you want anything?” Lorelai is kicking herself for doing this to Luke, on top of the day he was already having.  
  
“Yeah, a whiskey and I want to know why the hell I'm here if your boyfriend is too.” He hisses, trying not to raise his voice in front of this tuxedoed crowd.  
  
“Honestly, I forgot he was going to be here. And he's not my boyfriend.” Her eyes flash with annoyance, but her voice is flat, unemotional. She hasn't made eye contact with him since Jason arrived.  
  
Luke feels the knot in his throat, not understanding why she would lie to him. “I saw him with you last week.”  
  
She lets out a sigh and touches his wrist with her hand. The feeling of her skin against his makes him slow down and take a breath. “Jason and I...”  
  
“You're seeing each other.” He slips his wrist out of her grasp.  
  
“My parents don't know, Luke.” The one day he needs his best friend and she drags him into her own personal drama. “That's why he acted like he didn't know you.”  
  
“Oh, great, because that makes everything better.”  
  
“Why are you so upset about this?” she lashes out. “I'm sorry you've had a shitty day, but what does it matter if I'm dating Jason?” He tells himself not to make a scene. It isn't worth it to call out Lorelai's hypocrisy, even though a mere few weeks ago, the situation was reversed. Lorelai was upset he hadn't told her he was living with Nicole, yet now here she was not telling him about Jason and not understanding why Luke was upset.  
  
The other people in line at the bar have pushed in around them as they wait for their drinks and now they're only inches apart. Lorelai's bright blue eyes are full of anger, confusion, and sadness. He imagines touching her cheek.  
  
The bartender places their drinks in front of them, breaking him out of his reverie. “Because it does.” Luke says quietly, taking a sip of his whiskey. Lorelai hasn't touched her drink, instead she's standing there looking at him like she's trying to work something out in her head. “I wanted to spend time with you,” he admits. He doesn't normally drink this much in a day—hell, in a week—but he's pretty sure it's not the whiskey that is making the room spin off its axis.  
  
“We are spending time together.” Her voice is soft, somehow knowing the winds have shifted. This isn't merely a detente. It's much more. He always knew this would be the hardest part, admitting it, because he's not a words guy. It pleases him a tiny bit that words seem to be failing Lorelai at the moment too.  
  
“We are, but I don't want it to be like this. Not with Rory or your parents or whatever guy. Just you and me.”  
  
“Luke, I-” The emotion in her eyes makes him want to throw his drink on the ground and wrap her up in his arms, but instead his hand finds her elbow, leading her out of the crowd around the bar and to a corner where they can talk. Even though he's barely breathing, he gives her a moment to gather herself.  
  
“There you are.” Jason's voice interrupts the moment and they both turn to look at him. “Your mother sent me to find you. She's worried about your empty seats.” Luke doesn't even realize he's giving Jason a look, but he must be because Jason looks at him and says with a shrug. “I can't make this stuff up.”  
  
Lorelai hesitates, waiting for him. The expression in her eyes is unreadable, but just a glance at her face is enough to knock him backwards. He nods at her. “You go ahead. I'll be there in a second.” As Lorelai follows Jason back into the dining room, she discreetly tries to wipe at her eyes.  
  
Luke sips his whiskey, but he can barely swallow, his heart is pounding and his hands are shaking. He's done it. He's admitted to his best friend that he wants to spend time with her—romance implied—but he doesn't feel any sort of relief, instead he's left wondering if he could slip out unnoticed, except Emily Gilmore would hold it against him for the rest of her life. Or his, depending which comes first.  
  
Despite imagined threats of bodily harm from Emily, Luke finds himself standing just outside the door of the Hartford historical society. He bums a cigarette from one of the valets, even though he hasn't smoked since high school. It simply feels good to hold it in his hand.  
  
“Hey.” He turns to see Lorelai standing there, shivering in her dress. Without a word, he takes off his suit jacket and slips it around her shoulders. “I didn't know you smoked,” she chuckles when she sees the cigarette.  
  
“I don't.” He starts to toss it away but she takes it from him, her fingers on his sending a spark straight down his spine. Lorelai takes a long drag, blowing a stream of smoke into the night air above their heads.  
  
“Eh,” she shrugs. “Not as good as I remember.” She stubs the cigarette out under her shoe.  
  
“You smoked?” He arches an eyebrow. She never fails to surprise.  
  
“Briefly, before I found out about Rory. Mostly to piss off the parents.”  
  
“Of course.” He nods. They stand next to each other, both looking up at the night sky, not that there's much to see from the driveway.  
  
“Did you mean what you said in there?” she finally asks.  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
It would be easy to put him off, say there is Nicole or Jason to include in the equation, but she keeps remembering all the almost moments. Breaking the bells. Picking out paint colors for the diner. “Okay.” A breath. “Then I want to. Spend time with you.”  
  
Luke doesn't know what to say. He slips a hand into hers and he can see Lorelai smile out of the corner of his eye.  
  
“How's your hand, by the way?” She leans against his shoulder as he shows her the palm of his left hand, bandage still in place. Her touching him with such ease is going to take some getting used to, but he's sure he'll adapt quickly.  
  
“It feels fine. I have a good friend who is handy in a crisis.” He looks back up at her, unable to hide his smirk.  
  
“ _Good_ friend?” She objects, eyes widening.  
  
“Best friend.”  
  
“You bet your ass.”  
  
He arches an eyebrow. “Dirty?”  
  
Lorelai's laugh is loud and long. “This is going to be fun.” There are things they need to talk about, nerves which will need soothing, but they deserve this moment. They waited seven years to get here. She tugs on his hand, leading him back towards the door. “But first, we have to get back inside before my mother commits filicide.”  
  
Seeing Lorelai in his jacket, Luke's thinking of a few things he'd like to commit, but he follows her inside. As he's learned from his years with the Gilmore girls, it's best to do what they say.


End file.
